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@uitrit tstrs strnt @frn JOHN It. BRIDGES, OF PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO HIM- SELF AND G. O. FAUOET'I, OF FI-IE SAME PLAGE.

Letters Patent No. 67,403, dated August 6, 1867.

IMPROVEMENT IN MACHINES FOR MAKING NUTS.

, dln .Stimuli referat tu im tlgrst trttma ttmt mit ltalimgmtt nf the stmt.

TO ALL WHOM lI'I MAY OONCERN:

Be it known that I, Jemvlt. BRIDGES, of the city of Pittsburg, county of Allegheny, and State of Penn-` sylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Nut Machines; and I 'do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,

r forming part of this specification, in which- Figurel is a. plan or top view of my machine.

Figure 2 is a front elevati'on'of the machine, the middle portion being a section through the line z :c of iig. 1.

Figure 3 is a front elevation of my machine.

Figure 4 is an end view of the base-plate and sliding blocks.

Figure 5 is a section of one of the square dies, and of a nutmade in the machine, showing the shape of the semi-cylindrical washer formed around the eye of the nut.

f Figure 6 is an enlarged view of the extremity of the eye-punch and part of the bottom plate.

Like letters of reference denote similar parts in the several figures.

In machines for making nuts from a blank severed from a. bar of iron at `a welding heat, the nut-blank is usually enclosed in a nut-box which surrounds it, and in which Work two dies or punches, between which the nut is compressed, and which shape the top and bottom of the nut. These dies move in opposite directions, the lowerone, when the nut is nished, moving forward, as the upper die recedes, to deliver the nut from the nutbox. In such machines the eye of the nut is made by means of a. blunt-pointed round punch, which forces a.

wad out of the blank, or by a pair of round or taper-pointed punches which enter the nut-b1ank from opposite directions, and thus perforate it to form the eye, or the blank is rst perforated Vslightly by a tapering punch,` and afterwards the hole thus made is enlarged by a second punch. Invordinary machines it is necessary to turn the nut bar, after each nut is severed from it, in order to have the rag or tin on the same side of the nut, and in double machines, which havev two sets of dies, and-operate to make a nut on the backward strok'e as well as on the forward stroke of the machine, it is necessary, in order to feed the bar, to move it by hund from one part of the machine to another. In my machine the nut is compressed between a moving die and a bottom plate, which is stationary, while Iche blank is enclosed on two opposite sides by fixed blocks, and on the other two sides bythe cutter which severed the blank lfrom the nut bar, and'by a stripping-piece,which, together with the cutterand eye-punch, n recede after nut is made, carrying with them the finished nut, thus relieving it from confinement and overcoming the diiiculty heretofore experienced informing a nut by pressure in cavity-a matrix -having a ixed and stationary bottom., y

To enable others skilled in the art to'construct and use my improved zint machine, I will proceed to describe its parts and their operation. i

A is the bedplate of themachine, in the centre of which is an upright block or standard, I, in which the operation of making -the nuts is performed. Thisstand'ard I has a rectangular cavity extending from top to bottom, in which are set the bottom plate H, against which the nuts are pressed, and theupper blocks J J, and lower'blocks J J', which form the two opposite sidesof the matrix in which the nut is shaped. The bottom plate is placed between `two upperbloeks JJ andftwo lower blocks J' J, so as to form the bottom of two matrices or nut cavities, one on each side of it. The bottom pliite H and blocks J and J are secured inplace by set-'screws K K in one sidefofthe standard I. The widths of the bottom plate H and of the-blocks J and J are alike, being exactly equal to the width or diameter of the nut tobe formed, and also to the distance from thelower face of the upperiblocks J, and the upper face of the lower blocks J. The bottom plate H is perforated by a round hole, 1'-, shown by dotted lines in iig. 2, the diameter of which is that of the eye of the nut,- and into this hole t' the eye-punch F enters after it has perforated the nut-blank. The bottom plate H is perforated -with a series of holes similar to z', so that, as the plate wears away or becomes rounded at the edge of thehole, :lt-may be moved up or dwn, so as to bring a. fresh portion of the plate and a new hole z' in position to form the bottom of the matrix. 'llhe lower blocks J Jhave l-heads bevelledat the edge, to prevent their slipping down in the cavity ofthe standard I, and to serve as supports and guides for the square dies E E. The standard Vnu't bar being subjected to a welding heat is inserted into the machine through the opening r in the side' of the passing entirely through the nut-blank, enters'the round hole z'in the bottom plate H, and thereby swells out I has a square opening, s, passing horizontally through it for the 4passa'geof the square dies E E, and of the cutters D and stripping-piece G. It has also an opening., r, at one side, as shown in fig. 3, to allowof the nut bar being fed in. i

Atfeach end of the machine is a sliding block, C, one being'placed on each side of the standard I, so as to range with it and with the other sliding block. Each of these sliding blocks carries a square die, E, a round eye-punch, F, and a cutter, D. The two sliding blocks are rigidly connected together by a plate, V, and move backwards and forwards with a reciprocating motion on the `base-plate A between the dove tail slides B B, shown in tig. 4. The reciprocating movement of the sliding blocks CC is communicated by means of a roller l or pin, T, working between the lugs U U, which project from theoutsideof the connecting platc V, and revolv` ing with the 'wheel S, which Areceives its motion from the shaft P and crank It. The reciprocating movement of the sliding blocks C C may be obtained in any otherl manner which may be found more convenient.' Each of these sliding blocks C C is recess-ed to receive a square die, E, cutter D, and round eye-punch F. (one such i die, cutter, and punch being inserted in each block C.) The cutters and the. head of the punches are firmly secured by the set-screws L L, while the square dies E E, although held in place, are free to slide within their respective blocks C on the round eye-punch F, which passes through the central bore in 'its square die. The f. extremity of the cylindrical eye-punch is conical, terminating in a pointpas shown at o in lgfl. The base of the cone forming .the point of the eye-punch is somewhat smaller in diameter than the cylindrical part of the punch, so that around the base ofthe cone is a sharp, 'square edge, which serves to give the proper shape to the eyeof the nut and make a clean and smooth bore.l In passing thr'ough the nut-blank' to form the'eye ofthe nut the punch perforatesv the metal, displacingA .its particles `without removing any iron therefrom, and thus, when thcmutis enclosedin its matrix, secures the e`ect of compression by forcing the rn into the corners of the matrix or cavity. Thusv my punch combines the advantages of the ordinary plane-ended or blunt punch, and of 1 the taperingpunch, whileit obviates the objections of both kinds. The head of theeye-punch F, the cutter D, and-square die'E are held in place also by a plate, N, which covers the `recess in thesliding block C, and is fastened down by a cross-piece, M. .Although the square dies E E are held by their respective sliding blocks C C and move with them, when lleft to do so, yet they are, as. before stated,` not rigidly attachedv thereto, and are' suscoptible'of motion or rest independent of the state of motion Aor rest of the sliding blocks. On this independent action of thesquare dies E E the operations of pressing the nut. and delivering it from thel eyepunch mainly depend, and it is producedbymeans of the stripping-piece G, which is a bar passing through the w standard I, and reaching from one sliding block C to the other, entering the cavity of each block C alongside of the square dies E. This bar G forms one'side of the cavity, in which the nuts are formed, on both sides of the standard I, and by its motion with the die E and cutter D, afterthe nut` has been made, carries itv away' from between the blocks J J in the standard I. On the back of the bar Gare two pins or` projections a, one on each side of the standard I, and which, when they come in Contact with the side of thestandard I, arrest the f motion of the bar G, which otherwise moves with tlie sliding blocks C C. On the inner face of the bar G are two other pins c c, one near each extremity, which entersla recess, y, in each of the square dies E, (see iig. 1,) the-effect of which is-that when the motion of the'baxnG has been arrested by one of the pins a, as beforestated, the pine stops also the motion ofthe square'die E, while the round eye-punch F and cutter D, s'till receding, leave the finished nut free to drop away from the machine. V y

My machine being constructed as described, operates to cut, press, and punch the nuts as follows: The

standard I, so as to rest against one side of the bottom plate H with its extremityl touching the bar G, which thus serves as a gauge, the die E, -punch F, and cut-ter D being then in the position shown on the left-hand side of the standard I in g. 3. The sliding block C, (on that side of..v the machine,) then advances towards thej standard I, the cutter D severs the nut-blank from the bar of iron, and as it does so pushes the har ove1 past` the bottom plate H, just far enough tobe fed in on the other side of the plate H, so as to form another n ut on the next semi-revolution of the cr'ank-shaft P. In cutting the blank from the bar o f irontheeutter D forms i the fourth side of the matrix or cavity in which the nutis to be formed, the other three sides being furnished by thebar G and the blocks J and J. The eye-punch F then pierces the nut with its tapering point o, which the iron, forcing it into the angles of the matrix, giving sharp and well-defined corners t'o the nut. The square die E is then pressed forward by the head of the punch F and compresses the nuts-which is thus nished. The 1 head-bloch C then begins to recede on the return stroke of the machine, carrying with it the punch F, die E, 'cutter D, and bar G. The finished nut being on the eye-punch If, and held on two sides between the cutter'D and bar G, is withdrawn by `them from between the blocks JJ. The parts 'continue to recede in the same relative position until the pin a on the right-hand side of the machine'comes in contact with the standard I, which arrests the motion of the bar G;. the end of the recess y in the die E then comes inpcontactwith the pin c on the bar G, which stops the backward movement of the die E, when the roundv punch F and cutter D, still drawing back away from the nut which rests on the face of. the die E, leaves the finished nut unsupported, and it falls away from the machine.' On the backward motion of the parts of the machine on one side of the standard I, as just described, the operative parts in the other side of the stan-dard have been engaged in cutting, punching, and pressing a nut, so that not only is the time consumed in delivering'the nuts saved, but the strain on the machine is rendered more uniform, and asthe cutter D, in severing the' nut-blank from the bar of iron, at the same time pushes -the har into the exact position required for feeding the bar into the machine, there is e great saving of labor, and a less degree of skill is required in tending the machine.

Another improvement in my machine consists in recessing the extremity or operative face of the square dies E E, around the central hole through which the eye-punch passes, with an annular semi-cylindrical or semi- Oval groove, so as to form a. raised bead around the eye of the nut in lieu of the flat-faced washer ordinarily formed on the top of the nut. The advantage of this is, that when the nuts ure cmpioyed for Wood-Work, the` bead being turned next to the Wood, presses into it ncltakes a. better bold.

Having thus described my improvement in nuit machines, what claim es my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The annular semi-cylindrical or semi-oval recess on the fece of the square die E for formingra raised bead around the eye ofthe nut, al1 as described and represented in fig. 5 of the drawings. e

2. The bar G, provided with pins a a und c c, in combination with the die E and standard for the purpose herenbeforc described.

3. The cutters D D, when so arranged in n double-operating nut machine as to pass the nut bar, from which the nut-blank has been severed, to the proper position for feeding into the other end of' theA machine, substantially as hereinbefore described.

4. The combination of the blocks J J', bottorn plate H, cutter D, and ber G, for forming a matrix or nutbox-to enclose the nut while it is being pressed and punched, and which shell open to release the nut on the withdrawal ofthe pressing die.

JOHN R. BRIDGES.

Witnesses:

PETER WILSON, J onN S. WrLsoN. 

